ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: September 24, 1997

Dept. File No. 3153

CC File No. 5767

TO: Standing Committee on Planning and Environment

FROM: General Manager of Engineering Services, and

Director of Community Planning

SUBJECT: Development of the Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway, and

Upgrade of Prior/Princess Traffic Signal

RECOMMENDATION

A.THAT Council approve the development of a neighbourhood greenway along Atlantic Street, extending between Strathcona Park and the intersection of Malkin Avenue and Atlantic Street, and that funding of $57,000 be allocated from the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 12/31/6907/999 (Neighbourhood Greenways) for this project.

B.THAT Council approve the upgrade of the pedestrian-actuated signal at Prior Street and Princess Avenue to a fully-actuated signal, and that funding be allocated from the 1998 Signal Program for this work.

COUNCIL POLICY

On July 18, 1995, Council approved the Vancouver Greenways Plan which includes the development of neighbourhood greenways throughout the city. Funding is provided in the Capital Plan for traffic signal installations and modifications.

SUMMARY

The Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway project was initiated by local residents. Its objectives are: to beautify the section of City property along the south side of Atlantic Street between the community gardens in Strathcona Park and the intersection of Malkin Avenue and Atlantic Street; to provide an improved connection to local points of interest; and to assist in deterring undesirable activities (i.e. prostitution, drug use) within the neighbourhood. Two public meetings were held to inform local residents of the scope of the project and obtain feedback of any concerns they may have. To determine the level of neighbourhood support for this project, two surveys were conducted (one in February and another in July). The purpose of the second publicmeeting and survey was to address concerns that a substantial proportion of Atlantic Street residents only understand Cantonese, and thus, could not participate in the initial review. The results of the first and second survey indicated that 83% and 79%, respectively, of the respondents were in favour of the proposed Greenway. The estimated cost to develop this project is $57,000, with funding available in the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 12/31/6907/999 (Neighbourhood Greenways). Given the level of public consultation and support for the Greenway, the General Manager of Engineering Services and the Director of Community Planning recommend its development.

Local residents also requested that the pedestrian-actuated signal at Prior Street and Princess Avenue be upgraded to a fully-actuated signal to provide motorists on Princess safer access to Prior Street. A survey conducted in April indicated that a majority (75%) of the respondents support this measure.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval for the funding and construction of the Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway, and for the approval to upgrade the existing traffic signal at Prior Street and Princess Avenue to a fully-actuated signal.

BACKGROUND

Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway

On July 18, 1995, Council approved the Vancouver Greenways Plan which includes the development of neighbourhood greenways throughout the city. In addition, Council approved the construction of three neighbourhood greenway projects in 1996: the Prince Albert Neighbourhood Greenway, the Renfrew Ravine Neighbourhood Greenway, and the extension to the John Street Connector.

In December, 1995, residents of Atlantic Street, after hearing about the Greenways Program, initiated the process to develop a greenway in their neighbourhood. Although their current proposal is limited to the stretch along Atlantic Street, between Strathcona Park and the intersection of Atlantic Street and Malkin Avenue, they hope that this project will be the first stage of a more extensive neighbourhood greenway project stretching from Strathcona Park to the skytrain station at Main Street and Terminal Avenue, incorporating the proposed park south of Malkin Avenue, the new Trillium site development and Thornton Park.

Traffic Signal

The City received many requests to change the pedestrian signal at Princess and Prior to a full traffic signal. This change will provide a green light for motorists on Princess so they can access Prior Street more easily and safely. A survey was distributed, in April, to the residents along Princess, Jackson and Heatley, from Keefer to Atlantic, to ask for their input before making the final recommendation.

DISCUSSION

Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway

Currently, the overgrown grass boulevard on the south side of Atlantic Street is being used for garbage dumping and other undesirable activities (i.e. prostitution and drug use). The development of a neighbourhood greenway will: beautify the area south of Atlantic Street; create a pedestrian friendly connection linking the neighbourhood to the community gardens within Strathcona Park; allow local residents to take ownership of their street; and increase pedestrian activity which will assist in addressing the garbage dumping, drug and prostitution problems along Atlantic Street.

1) Design

The design of this Greenway involves the construction of a gravel path along Atlantic Street, from Strathcona Park to the intersection of Atlantic Street and Malkin Avenue. Wooden steps have been incorporated in the design to deal with the change in grade adjacent to the Fire Hall parking lot. Safety concerns have been addressed by creating good sightlines for path users and adding pedestrian level lighting along the section of path between Atlantic Street and Malkin Avenue. Additional street trees, shrubs and grass are included in the design to beautify the area. For a more detailed description of the design, please refer to the plan shown in Appendix A.

2) Public Process

Public consultation for the Greenway has been extensive to ensure that local issues got addressed within the design, and to provide everyone within the neighbourhood an equal opportunity to participate in this community based project. The following is a summary of all the events which took place during the public process.

•460•April, 1996 - Atlantic Street residents met at Strathcona Community Centre to discuss neighbourhood issues and greenway design ideas. •460

•460•May, 1996 - The initial design for the Greenway, produced by the neighbourhood, was presented to the Greenways Team for review. Staff then worked with a group of neighbourhood volunteers to revise the design to meet the City's requirements for funding and safety.•460

•460•February 18, 1997 - A public meeting was held at Strathcona Community Centre to present the revised Atlantic Greenway design to the neighbourhood. The comments received from those in attendance are attached in Appendix B. •460

•460•February - March, 1997 - A survey was conducted of all residents between Prior Street and Atlantic Street, and between Jackson Avenue and Heatley Avenue (including the warehouse backing onto Atlantic Street, Fire Hall No.1, and absentee land owners), to determine overall neighbourhood support for the Greenway (refer to Table 1 for survey results and Appendix A for survey boundary). This survey contained a description of the Greenway project, a summary of the public process undertaken, a questionnaire, and a separate notice (translated in several languages) used in all City surveys indicating the importance of the correspondence. Comments received from this survey are attached in Appendix C.•460

Table 1: February, 1997 - Survey Results
Number of Surveys Delivered/Mailed	Number of Surveys Returned	Percent Support
91	30 (33%)	83%

•460•April - May, 1997 - A resident of Atlantic Street, who was not involved in the Greenway design development and had not attended the public meeting in February, sent a letter to the City opposing the Greenway proposal. Signatures from eleven other local residents, ten of whom live on Atlantic Street, were included in the letter. Staff met with some of these residents on May 6, 1997, at City Hall to discuss the concerns noted in the letter relating to: additional demand for parking resulting from Greenway users; the possible influx of pedestrians and strangers; an increase in littering; and notification and polling of Atlantic Street residents. During the meeting, staff noted that local residents would be the primary users of the Greenway, and thus, not pose additional demands for on-street parking. Also, by providing the facilities to encourage local residents to use the south side of the street at various times of the day, unwanted loitering in this area would be discouraged. •460

•460•June 23, 1997 - A second public meeting was conducted entirely in English and Cantonese at Strathcona Community Centre to ensure that those residents whose first language is Cantonese had an equal opportunity to participate in the public process. This meeting was attended by 20 local residents, Councillor Daniel Lee, Engineering Services staff, a member of the Vancouver Police Department, and a citizen who was involved with the Windsor Castle project along the Ridgeway Greenway. In general, support for the proposal at the meeting was mixed. Written comments received from those in attendance and others, who wrote the City on this issue, are attached in Appendix D. •460

•460•July, 1997 - A second survey, entirely in English and Cantonese, was conducted within the original survey area to address complaints, by the local residents who opposed the Greenway, that a substantial proportion of the Atlantic Street residents had been ignored due to the language barrier. Results of this survey are shown in Table Two. A sample copy of this survey, along with comments received, are attached in Appendix E.•460

Table 2: July, 1997 - Survey Results
Number of Surveys Delivered/Mailed	Number of Surveys Returned	Overall % Support	Percent Support - Atlantic Street Residents
91	24 (26%)	79%	75%

In light of the extent of the public process and consistent level of public support, the General Manager of Engineering Services and the Director of Community Planning recommend construction of the proposed Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway.

3) Community Involvement

The local community has taken a very active role in the development of the design for the Neighbourhood Greenway. Continuing community participation will be encouraged through neighbourhood planting events, involvement in the Public Art Program to pursue the creation of a representative art piece for this area, and ongoing maintenance of the Greenway.

Traffic Signal

In April, 1997, 438 surveys were distributed to the residents within the area bounded between Jackson and Heatley, from Keefer to Atlantic, and 166 (38%) were returned. An example of the survey is shown in Appendix F. Overall, the proposed change received 75% support. The most common benefit noted was the safe vehicular access to Prior for residents to the south. The most common concern was that heavy truck traffic from Malkin may use this intersection instead of Jackson and Prior for easier access. However, this is unlikely due to the limited turning radii available for heavy trucks at the intersection of Atlantic and Princess, and Atlantic and Malkin. Also, the installation of a fully-actuated signal at Princess and Prior will cause additional gaps in traffic at the intersection of Jackson and Prior, thus making it more convenient for trucks to access Prior from the latter intersection.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS

Building the Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway provides many environmental benefits. These include: assistance in deterring the dumping of garbage in this area; an increase in greenery along this street; and with a future greenway extension to the skytrain station at Main Street, thepromotion of walking and public transit.

SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway provides the local community with many social benefits. It creates a more appealing landscape for local residents, and assists in deterring garbage dumping, drug use and prostitution within the neighbourhood. It also promotes community building through specific community-oriented projects such as neighbourhood planting and greenway maintenance events.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

The cost to construct the Neighbourhood Greenway is estimated to be $57,000. Funding for this project is available in the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account No. 12/31/6907/999 (Neighbourhood Greenways).

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

Given Council's approval, the development of the Neighbourhood Greenway and signal upgrade will be scheduled for early next year.

CONCLUSIONS

The local community strongly supports the development of the Atlantic Neighbourhood Greenway because it will provide many environmental and social benefits to this area. With Council's approval, construction of this project can begin early next year.

* * * * *

(c) 1997 City of Vancouver